Identify Opponent Maximizing Value at Poker Online Table

Poker online players have varying styles of play and different levels of experience. If you can quickly identify the type of player you are up against and their skill level you can use this knowledge to alter your playing style and maximize your opportunities.

There are many types of an online poker player and, of course, many levels of experience between those players. Texas Hold’em the card game is similar to pushing spaghetti around a plate – some will get more, others will get less and the house always takes a slice. The statistics of cards over time dictate that we all have the same opportunities. The key to maximizing our potential gains is to quickly identify your opponent type and skill level. If you can correctly identify your opponent then you will be able to alter your playing style to maximize your win, and just as significantly, minimize your loss.

Let’s review the various playing styles that you will come across in an average Texas Hold’em Poker cash game. Players will either be:

  • Rocks
  • Tight Players
  • Calling Stations
  • Maniacs

And within these styles, you will find a range of aggression that goes from passive to aggressive. What follows are some strategic hints and tips to help you play against each form of online poker real money player in an online environment.

Rocks

Rocks are the most common type of Texas Hold’em Player. They are the easiest to beat and usually are inexperienced new players who think the game revolves around the cards that are dealt. It’s also the most natural playing style and so you will come across them regularly. These are the people you should look to play against. Controlled aggression is the way to proceed. Bet at these players when flops look ugly and they’ll most likely fold. If they re-raise you in return, step aside and let them take the hand, coming right back at the next round. A rock who has been sitting folding the last 20 hands, only to come out betting, is the easiest read of all. If you can’t see them coming then I’d suggest you take up a different game.

Tight Players

Tight players are usually battle-hardened. The difference between a tight player and a rock is that they understand the need to come out more often, with the occasional bluff here and there. More importantly, they usually use the time spent sitting out, to identify opponent characteristics in order to play their weaknesses. The best of all players sit in this category – Tight Aggressive No-Limit Texas Hold’em players need to be identified early on and avoided at all cost. Find one and you should re-examine your table selection.

Calling Stations

Calling stations present an interesting playing style and are the second most common type you’ll find in play poker online. By definition fairly weak, these players rarely take the initiative and thereby have to rely on the luck of running up against an aggressive player while holding the nut or near nut hand. More often than not these people will lose because they are:

1) Playing their cards and not their opponent

2) Have no initiative

3) Regularly rely on card catching strategies

Maniacs

Maniacs are a rare breed of player seldom seen in low limit or tournament Texas Hold’em Poker games. They have no fear of losing, indeed it’ll look like they want to, and it is this that sets them apart from most players online today. Difficult to play against, these opponents rely on your fear of losing your stack to gain chips. Often seen with large chip stacks relative to the table, Maniacs will bet large regularly, and whatever hand you choose to play, it is likely that you will have to be prepared to go all-in with it. No card catching against these opponents – if you try you will be punished.

Happy playing!

Read more:
Playing Several Tables at One Time in Poker Online
Poker Online – Poker Chips Value

Poker Online Freerolls – Fun with No Deposits

Poker freerolls are basically poker tournaments that are conducted for free on poker playing websites. These websites do not usually charge you anything under the pretext of registration fees, unlike normal poker tournaments. Organizers of these poker online freeroll tourneys also sometimes offer cash prizes for the winners of these tourneys. Usually, quite a lot of people enter these poker freeroll tournaments and play in a very jovial manner. And friendly manner because there is no actual spending of money.

When you start to play at the online poker India freeroll tables, you should first make a decision as to which table you want to play in. Most of these tables are categorized on the basis of the prize money they offer. So usually, the tables listed at the top have the best prize money amount. And also have the maximum number of players competing for it. One should note that these poker freeroll tournaments can take a very long time to finish. So you’ll also have to stock up on your patience.

Remember, this is a tournament, even though it’s free. So, you’ll have to up your game if you want to win something big! Keep in mind some simple tricks of the online poker real money. Play competitively, try to be aggressive. If you happen to get a hand of a royal pair (Like a KK) or a double Ace hand, then you should raise significantly to set the pulse of the table racing. The two above mentioned hands are extremely good and can always ensure a good round. In these situations, if you raise your bet by quite a bit, you can be sure that your call will be seconded by someone or the other because the number of participants is really high.

Play the game tactfully

Try to play a smaller number of hands during the game. Sometimes people think that just because they are at the table playing a game of play poker online freeroll, they just have to play in every single round. It’s alright to fold every now and then and is also a technique practised by many. You can keep throwing your cards away till such time you get a great combination, which can almost surely win you the round. When you do get such a hand, then it is the time to become aggressive. Raise your bet, wait for more people to call your bet and then watch the money pile in as you win!

Even if you have moderately good cards that can win you some rounds but not always, you should fold. This holds good for a hand like numerical pairs, such as an 8-8 or a 9-9, for example. Don’t attempt to play the round if you are not sure of getting that pot. Remember, you shouldn’t really try to bluff your way in poker freeroll tournaments. You should really avoid that.

You must remain focused while you are playing because after all, poker online freeroll games are also actual poker tournaments. And since these are played online, it is highly advised that you stay away from any distractions such as email or instant messaging or using your cell phone or glancing at your television.

Poker freerolls are the best places for beginners to learn, so if you are starting, then the poker freeroll sites should be your first stop.

Happy playing!

Big Pot Play Poker Online Bluffing

The skill to bluff big pots in poker online effectively is something that’s needed. This separates good players from great players. It is no accident that the games played at the highest stakes feature some of the most daring bluffs: big bluffs are a central part of the game.

For small bets, the majority of best online poker players mix up their play very well. They’ll bet out or raise with nothing on the flop with about the right frequency – but a lot of players don’t mix up their play well on big bets. Some players never fool around when they put in really big money on the turn or river. Your opponents can never resist the big bluff when they see a lot of money/chips in the middle. Timing to strike the right balance between value bets and bluffs when you raising the ante in the pot is crucial to playing top-level poker.

When you are playing against world-class pros, bluffing too often is a bigger mistake than not bluffing enough. You will get called very often and you will look to everyone like you are carelessly spewing online poker chips. You’ll question yourself why they are calling you so often, but it’s easy to see why: your opponents will be getting 2:1 odds on a call (if you are betting the size of the pot) and they will infer based on your betting habit that you’re bluffing more often than that.

How can they determine that you are bluffing too often?

In a manner of speaking, if you are balancing your online poker real money big bluffs properly, you will be betting for value about two-thirds of the time. And you will be betting as a bluff about one-third of the time. Hands that you will bet big for value on the turn or river come up quite rarely. It’s not often that you make a straight, a flush, a set, or some other huge hand that earns a big bet on the river for value. If you’re betting big on the river and turn very often, your opponents will figure out that you’re bluffing too often.

Bluffing too often can be a huge misjudgment in an online play poker game. But not bluffing often enough in the truly big spots is one thing that prevents great players from becoming world-class. You’ll probably never hear someone say of famous poker players “he’s never messing around in that spot.” They can be bluffing in any spot. As the pot gets very huge, their bluffs will be less frequent, as they will be trying to represent very thin ranges, but their bluffing frequency will never be zero in any sport, other than some trivial ones where it’s only appropriate to raise with the unorthodox.

Have the edge on an opponent

Most of the time your big bluffs will occur when you have an edge on an opponent. This is most true for big moves on the river. If a player checks to you on the river, it’s likely not a check of strength. With one pair of hands, people will often call on the flop and turn, but not always on the river. Their “check-call, check-call, check” line often tells you that they have a big pair but no better. Some novice players will fold to a pot-sized bluff way too often in this spot, and will not adjust oneself behaviour even when they begin to suspect that you are bluffing them often. Against these players, you are obligated to keep pilfering (stealing) until they adjust.

Definitively, the ability to pull off a big bluff is a crucial element in poker. Highly do so with the correct frequency, and you’ll raise your game to the next level.

Happy playing!

 

Read more:
A Look at Poker online Tournament Strategy
Poker Online – The Seven Types of Tilt

A Look at Poker online Tournament Strategy

To begin formulating a poker online tournament strategy, you first have to be aware of the different phases that occur and are relevant to gameplay. The easiest way to approach tournament strategy is to divide the process into four parts, starting with Pre-Tournament decision-making. Also, looking at the beginning and middle stages, and ending with the final stage.

1. Before the Tournament: Pre-Tournament Decision Making

There are many different types of online poker tournaments, so the first step is to be very clear on what type of tournament you’re entering.

Major Tournaments:

Large tournaments lasting for an extended period of time, like one week up to one month with larger buy-in fees.

Minor Tournaments:

Much smaller tournaments that usually last for three days. Buy-ins are cheaper than in major tournaments.

Free Roll Tournaments:

There is no buy-in fee required for entry into the tournament.

Re-buy Tournaments:

Players are given the option during a certain period to purchase more chips. Usually for the same price as the original buy-in. Each tournament has different re-buy rules regarding how many chips a player must have in order to purchase more. And another issue is whether or not the tournament allows for multiple re-buys or a one-optional re-buy. When the period for re-buys ends, the tournament becomes a Freezeout.

Guaranteed Tournaments:

Guarantees from the start that a certain amount of money will be in the prize pool, regardless of how many players buy-in to the play poker online tournament.

Satellite Tournaments:

A one-table tournament that’s used for the purpose of awarding winners with buy-ins to major tournaments.

Shootout: A player must defeat all players at his table before advancing to the final round. All finalists play against each other in a freeze-out format until only one player remains.

Freezeout: Players who run out of chips are eliminated. As seats open up, tables are combined together until there is only one player remaining. Players in the top remaining positions receive a percentage of the prize pool on a predetermined scale.

2. Beginning Stages of the Tournament

Depending on type of tournament, players will have a general tendency either to play more aggressively in early stages or very tight.

Re-buy tournaments, due to the fact that players can purchase more chips during re-buy periods, are played much more loosely and aggressively. The cost of blinds towards the beginning of the tournament is fairly low, which allows players much more leeway when deciding which hands to play poker. Again, factoring your cost allowance versus aggressive playing is important for finding the proper balance somewhere in-between both. It may be worth the risk to invest up to five per cent of your stack to see the flop on marginal hands for the chance of doubling what you have. This is only toward the beginning of the tournament when blinds are still affordable and you know that you won’t let yourself put in more than 5% of what you have on a small pair.

Keep in mind that your main focus in the beginning stages of a tournament should be to keep a decent stack of chips so that you’ll be in a secure position for the upcoming rounds.

3. Middle Stages of the Tournament

Towards the middle of the tournament, significant changes in the blinds need to be taken into account. Blinds will be raised and you’ll be required to invest a larger chunk of your chip stack as the rounds continue. This affects your playing strategy because the general tendency here is to try to win the blind by raising immediately. In order to call, you will have to invest a significant amount of money, which is not a smart move to make if your hand is weak. Smart players will fold immediately if they have nothing to go on. Remember that tournaments are a matter of survival, and if you’re wasting your chips on weak hands at this stage, you probably won’t last long.

To recap, your best bet if you’re in early position is to aggressively make the first raise, but if another player makes the raise, play tight and fold immediately if you have a weak hand.

4. The Final Stage

In order to make it to the final round, you should shoot for winning the blinds at least once per round. If you succeed, you’ll be in a position where the increasingly high blinds leave you in a critical position with your chips and require skilful short-hand play. The best online poker real money strategy at this stage is to take stock of where you stand with your chips and how close you are to the prize money according to the tournament’s prize structure. If you have a decent amount of chips, your focus should be on eliminating the other players by playing aggressively. If not, play conservatively and call only if you have a strong hand. It’s important at this stage to know realistically what’s possible and to adjust your strategy to aim for that goal.

Happy playing!

 

Read more:
Playing against a Pre-flop Raiser in Poker Online
Poker Online – Poker Chips Value

Topics Not for Discussion in Online Poker Game

Poker is normally regarded as a shady & dark game but in fact, it is simply speaking like any other community game. The game not merely offers you the opportunity of financial gain, but also stimulates intellectual and social delight. A good online poker game is not just about the hands being played, but is also the joy, atmosphere and discussion at the table through the entire game. But, you need to prevent a few topics which should not be pointed out.

Let us see what the issues are that online poker game players avoid discussing with their team mates while playing poker.

Avoid Talking about Politics

Never talk about politics while playing at the online poker India table. It may be fun to discuss a future election or to give your views on a popular political issue; however you should avoid such subject areas if you don’t want to end up in a certain heated argument with your tablemates.

Prevent Talking about Religious beliefs

Poker, as a game, help to unite people from diverse cultures around a common interest but, talking about religious dissimilarities or issues over the poker table can ruin the jovial ambiance of the poker room. It is better to fight the battle of showdown instead of religious bickering.

Prevent Talking about the Hand Being Played out

It is regarded as unethical to talk about the hand being played. This kind of discussion not only distracts the participant still in hand, but even affects other players & their gameplay. Therefore, until a hand has ended, it’s better to keep your ıdeas to yourself.

Do not ever talk about Previous Hands

“Don’t dwell in the past, focus on the present.” This is true for online poker real money as well. There is nothing to be attained by talking about previous hands. Furthermore, it will only lead to usual arguments like which cards were on the board, what order they came in etc. Therefore it is preferable to focus on the existing hand & enjoy the action on the table.

Prevent Rude Demeanor towards Weak Players

Bear in mind that any immoral, dishonorable behavior or disrespect towards pastime players can turn them off from playing best online poker. If you’re an online poker pro, you should not criticize other weak competitors. Instead, make an effort to be genuine with your compliments & motivate them.

Prevent Criticizing the Dealer

Dealers have the most difficult job in the game of poker. Dealing with different types of players & spending so much time to be fair with everybody at the same time is not always easy. It’s seriously rude to freely discuss a dealer’s efficiency regardless how poor it is. In case you have a problem, contact the floor manager or poker site manager.

Happy playing!

Read More:

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Online Poker – Don’t Be a Loser with Card AA

While some players light up with joy when looking down at “pocket rockets” in an online poker game of no limit Texas Hold’em, others become filled with dread. Why?

More than one online poker real money player has seen his pair of aces go down in flames, taking his entire stack with it. If you’re a no limit Hold’em player, how can you avoid being a loser with pocket aces?

Raise Pre-Flop

Some best online poker player like to get sneaky and limp with aces. In most cases, this is a big mistake. If you are in a very early position and think you can get another player to raise so you can re-raise, or as a very rare change from your usual tactics, you may consider a limp.

However, in most situations, it is very important that you raise pre-flop with aces. Firstly, you want to get money into the pot. If the pot is unraised, it will be very easy for opponents to get away on the flop if your aces are still best.

Secondly, you want to thin the field. The more players there are out against you, the better chance there is that one will catch something to beat you.

Most importantly, you need to find out where you are. If you raise pre-flop, you are likely to get called only by people with premium hands, meaning mostly big cards. On a flop of Q 8 7, you can be fairly sure that your aces are still best. However, if you fail to raise before the flop, your opponents could hold anything, from 56 to Q7, and when you bet, you will only get called by one of these well disguised hands that beats you.

Know When You Are Beat

There’s no law that says you have to put all your money in with aces. If you get two callers pre flop with two black aces and the flop comes T J Q all hearts, it’s okay to check fold. It’s great to get aces, but if they’re beat, they’re beat.

Don’t Go on Tilt

From time to time, you will lose with aces no matter what you do. In these cases, it is very important to keep a level head. It is just one hand and if you do the right thing consistently, you should come out ahead. Continue to play your best game and if you can’t, get up and play another day. There’s always another free poker bonus around the corner to get your bankroll back in shape.

Happy playing!

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Online Poker Can Make You a Better Investor

The game of online poker goes beyond depending on luck. It is also the game of calculative skills and strategic thinking, artful dodging and mysterious expressions.

Take a look how you can be a better investor playing the online poker game. Read on:

Planned risks

Poker is all about taking calculated risks. Depending on your hand that you have been dealt, the level of tournament, your bankroll you take planned risks in hope of winning more. Same skill can be applied to investing as well. Every investment you make has some risk attached to it. The key to a successful investment is taking planned risks to gain maximum profits and minimum losses.  Big gains be it investment or online poker real money come from well-timed planned risks.

Lasting thinking

A successful poker player is the one who is focused on long term goals and is patient. In short term, luck may play a role but in the long term, skill plays an important role. But the key to success is to stick around and persevere.

Like in a game of best online poker, investment too requires patience and can take years to yield any tangible results.

Knowing your numbers

Knowing your numbers is important in both poker and investing. Good poker players know the odds, outs and are good at number crunching. Same can be applied to investing as well. A good investor knows the fundamental analysis and technical analysis for their stocks.

Keep emotions in check

Keeping emotions in control is important in both investing and a game of poker. A lot of poker players get angry or frustrated when they are losing in short term and it ends up costing them dearly. In the same way, keeping emotions in check is important while investing to maximize ROI.

Ability to read opponents/market

A successful poker player is one who knows his opponents and his playing strategies. He is able to read opponents’ actions, cards that might be drawn and strategy the players will employ.

Similarly, a successful investor is the one who is knowledgeable about the market and gauging trends of the market

Studying the game/markets

Players make time and effort to study the game when they are not playing.  Similarly, investors too need to invest time in studying the market when they are not investing.

Maintaining discipline

Discipline is important whether in game or stock market. Good players/investors are disciplined and play within their means.

Perhaps the most important investment lesson a game of poker teaches is knowing when to quit.

Happy playing!

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A Guide to an Online Poker Newbie

Starting off playing online poker can be fun, but it can also be stressful if you’re unprepared for the challenge. Once you start playing, you will not only compete with other beginners, but professional players as well. Keep in mind that some of these people are playing online poker for a living. Spending up to 10 hours a day playing it. So don’t feel down if you realize that you’re not doing as great as you expected. Defeating your friends in a home game is one thing. But the world of online poker is a completely different thing. To make things easier for you, we’ve got you some cool tips and tricks that can improve your games. But be prepared for days and days of practice and nerve wrecking games until you see some real results.

Keep your emotions at bay

It’s fairly easy to get over emotional while playing online poker India. Who could blame you? There’s the heat of the game, your ego (especially the “macho” moment if you’re a guy playing against other guys), money at the stake. That’s why most beginners make this mistake and lose their head in the middle of the game. Remember that getting emotional will lead you nowhere. And there’s no place for passion if you’re serious about winning some cash. You need a cool head and the ability to focus and analyze your opponents. Waiting for crucial signs and playing smart. If you catch yourself getting irritated or still thinking about the previous game. Take a break and cool down.

You need to learn and practice

If there’s one thing we keep hearing from fresh players, it’s “I’m a natural”, and there’s nothing more annoying than this statement. Although you might be talented for best online poker, that makes just one tiny bit of the whole picture. Even the most talented of athletes have to sweat their way to success with hard practice, and online poker is no different than any other sport. There is a whole lot of literature on online poker as well as online sources and forums where you can learn a lot of useful stuff. Of course, pro players will always keep their little secrets to themselves, but getting informed and learning about poker strategy is essential.

Focus on the players, not cards

There’s an old online poker real money saying that goes something like “play the players, not the cards”, and it’s one wise piece of advice you should stick to. Many beginners’ focus on their hand too much, missing the whole picture and their opponents’ moves. Carefully observe your opponents, try to find a pattern in their behavior and predict their moves, attacking them when they least expect it. Even if you don’t get a great hand, you can bluff your way out of it if you break the pattern in your opponent’s moves and predict whether they would fall for the bluff or not. Remember that it’s all about the right moves as you’ll rarely get a winning hand that guarantees you 100% success.

Happy playing!

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Online Poker – Observe your Opponents and then Play

Many players spend hours perfecting their online poker by, reading up on strategy posts, striving to become more accomplished players. Allowing them to gain themselves an edge against their competitors, but many players overlook the importance of sitting back. And studying the other opponents around your table. This is to try and give yourself a better insight into the hands they may be holding. And what they intend on doing with these hands both Pre-Flop and Post Flop.

When They Drop Their Guard

Some reactions are impossible to hide this includes situations where an opponent has already made their mind up 100%. And therefore, are no longer bothered with the other best online poker around the table this can be shown for someone who is about to fold. It is by showing a blatant lack of interest in the action that is unfolding in front of them. And sometimes have their cards in their hand ready to throw them away.

Many players think that you are not watching them, or alternatively just don’t care if you are. As a winning player it is crucial to pay attention to these periods of time. As this is the perfect opportunity for you to gain a little insight into your opponents. Any time you see the opponents do anything that is out of the ordinary this is done for a reason; it is up to you to try and understand the reason behind this action.

This is an example to try and illustrate our point. Say you are at a table holding A,Q I make a raise in a Late Position Pre-Flop. There is one caller the flop comes over 5,9,3 off suit my opponent. Then looks at their cards before deciding to check this movement along gives them the confidence. They need to know they am in front of the hand.

Identify between the two types of player

This is for a number of reasons. If the player has to look at their card once the flop comes down this tends to mean that they do not have a hand of any importance such as a big pocket pair or an ace with any kicker up to a 10, it also means that they have not noticed a card on the flop that they see in their own hand another possibility is that the player has hit one of the cards that has appeared on the flop thus giving them the winning hand. You do have to be careful of this put this type of play. It will be employed by a more experienced. And better player so therefore should be easy to identify between the two types of player.

Trying to gain a read like this can be the deciding factor on whether to carry on or fold a marginal hand or a hand you are doubt full over.

Actions When Other Players Are Observing

Players who know that they are under constant supervision start to panic somewhat, and make some uncharacteristic and unusual moves. Things like laughs and twitches among other can tell you a story you just have to try and understand what that story is. A player that has the nuts or a new inexperienced player who also thinks they have the nuts, (but in reality, only have top pair) will react in exactly the same way.

It if from here that you have to again look into the way the player has been playing previous, ask yourself if the player is more experienced and fully understands the concepts of online poker real money game, or are they just a new player who is getting excited at the prospect of winning their first pot of real money. It is from here that you will be better able to gauge a read on your opponent, you will have to try and figure out what their reactions are telling you to do and do the reverse. This is a hard concept and skill to acquire but once you get to grips with it, it can become a deadly weapon in your arsenal.

Happy playing!

Read more

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Online Poker Tips that Work Fruitfully

Poker is not a game of chance; hence it is not fair to blame your luck whenever you lose a game. You just need certain skills and need to follow the rules of the poker game. Many people now want to be an expert when it comes to online poker after discovering its promising future. Some of the players found that they can earn a living from this game and it can be perfect job for them.

Now, you might be wondering how to be an expert in poker online. Here are some tips that you can try on how to be the best in this game:

Study the Game

It is essential to study the game of poker if you wish to be a successful online poker gamer. When you think that you have known all things about poker, it is the time that you will have to research even more. As a matter of fact, you must not stop learning online poker real money. This is because standing still in the game will make you left out.

As such, you can read the articles or books, join a site, or hire a poker coach. Any discoveries that you learn for the day will lead you closer to gaining more profits.

Prove that You’re the Best Player

It is not a good idea to jump straight into the game. You must prove to yourself first that you are a profitable online poker player.

Indeed, there are some people that join in a tournament and win a cash prize which is equivalent to two months of salary. Then, they start thinking that this game is an easy way to earn a living. But this is actually all wrong.

In reality, you need thousands of money and multiple games to join to prove that you are the best online poker player. If you don’t become the best player that you hoped for, you will soon find yourself heading back to the old employment that you are praying to get rid of.

Be Realistic

When you have proved to yourself that you are the best online poker player, it’s time to think about how many tournament or games you can join. With this, you can determine if the new life you choose to have can match your previous employment. This is where many online poker India players fail.

When you are working fulltime, you receive your salary on the same date each month. This is regardless of how productive your day, week, or month is. Sometimes, you are paid even on vacation or if you’re sick. The idea that you have to work five days a week is enough to make you wake up early each morning and report for duty. However, what if none of these things are true?

How many online poker gamers are there to wake up at 12 midnight, play poker for two to three hours, and go have some fun for the rest of the day? The answer is only a few online poker players. And for those who don’t do this will generally don’t succeed as online poker players in due time.

Give it Some Try

Lastly, you should have a trial in playing poker games online. With this, you can experience how to play professionally. Take a five-day leave from your job and spend it playing poker. You will be surprised by how challenging it is to convince yourself to play poker non-stop. Thus, it is best to find out first if you are into this game before taking the plunge.

Happy playing!

Read more:

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